


Return of the Avatar

by RubiRose15



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Airbender Shiro, Alternate Universe - Avatar & Benders Setting, Avatar Keith, Earthbender Hunk (Voltron), Earthbender Pidge, M/M, Nonbender Coran, Waterbender Allura, Waterbender Lance (Voltron), avatar AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-12-31 12:45:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12132780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RubiRose15/pseuds/RubiRose15
Summary: In which Keith discovers he's the avatar and things just kinda spiral downhill from there.





	1. 1: Unexpected

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This fic is inspired by inkandowl's fanart. It is really friggin good. I asked permission to make this lol  
> It was nerve-wracking to send an ask. Anyhoo, hope you enjoy. I know a lot of people on Pinterest were begging for this to be a fic.

Keith was never one to enjoy traveling. He preferred to stay at home, in the Fire Nation. He especially didn't want to voyage to the frozen tundra that was the Southern Water Tribe. Unfortunately for him, his mother had dragged him with her on a "business trip".

His mother, named Azar, worked for a group of people called the Galra Empire. They went around the world in search of the Avatar. Without context, it all sounded fine, however, they searched for the master of the elements to kill them. Whenever a youth showed signs of being the next Avatar, you could bet the Galra would show up soon. Countless innocent lives were taken.

Water, fire, earth, and air. The Avatar could control them all. However, the next reincarnation has not appeared for years and years. Common knowledge was that they would be reborn within  a few years, and would show signs of controlling the four elements in early youth, but no one had demonstrated anything of the sort. Eventually, a small band of people boldly declared that the era of the Avatar was over. With relatively powerful at its center, the small group became something massive. They became the Galra Empire.

The Galra did more than just killing anyone with an affinity for the elements, they also caused what Azar called 'mischeif'. Keith knew they actually did more than that. They went around and enslaved small villages that couldn't do much to defend themselves as well. They decided that if no one could stop them from doing harm, then why do good? 

Keith knew what his mother did was wrong. He always wanted to stop her from going on these so-called business trips and live a normal family life. She was a good soldier, and could easily use her power for good. Sadly, the boy wasn't good with speaking to others. He used his time to brood like a miserable anti-hero rather than actually doing anything.

Taking a deep breath, Keith watched the ship reach land. He roused his pet, a fox cat named Red, and stood up. The feline crawled up to his shoulders and yawned lazily, going back to sleep as he began walking off the ship.

"Holy shit, this place is cold" the boy hissed, rubbing his arms. "How do people live like this?!" 

"Just channel some of that fire within," Azar said suddenly, moving to walk next to her son. She smiled fondly at him and ruffled his hair. Her hand dropped to the thick hair gathered at his neck. "You need to cut your hair or put it up."

"Hey! For your information I think I can pull off a mullet!" Keith snapped defensively. 

"Mm, whatever you say," the woman shrugged before rushing forward to join her fellow commanders at the front. Keith sighed in annoyance and rubbed his arms again. Red affectionately nuzzled his cheek in an attempt to warm him up. The boy smiled and scratched behind her ear, much to the half feline's pleasure. 

"Let's go. Maybe we'll find something interesting." Keith mumbled to his companion, walking further inland. He soon came across a small village where groups of people were busy with their work. He walked around, curiously watching everyone. A few people eyed him suspiciously, probably wondering what a fire bender was doing in the south. 

Keith wandered for a while until he saw the Galra in formation, marching toward a fancy building, presumably the home of the cheif. He ran toward it so his mother wouldn't have to call him over, and stood in the crowd next to a high up officer named Thace.  

He noticed while they were walking that Thace's eyes seemed to wander to him every so often. He looked thoughtful, like he was contemplating something involving him. Eventually the man suddenly pulled him aside. 

"What? Is something the matter?" Keith tilted his head in confusion.

"Listen, son of Azar. When they talk to the chief, I want you to sneak inside and warn the princess to run and hide." Thace began.

"W-what?" 

"Warn Princess Allura to run. They're going to try to kill her." 

"I, um, I get that, it's just, why me?" Keith asked suspiciously.

"Your mother most likely trusts you not to interfere. I feel she and the other soldiers are starting to realize my... double agency." 

"Double agency?" 

"Look, there's no time to explain everything in detail. Just sneak in and warn the princess. It's easy." Thace repeated, and gently shoved Keith toward the chief's house. 

The Galra had begun talking to Chief Alfor. They explained that his daughter was reportedly showing signs of an interest in all four elements. The chief looked shocked, but refused entry into his home. He knew their intentions with his daughter.

Somehow, with the minor distraction, Keith was able to slip into the house with some help from Red. She snuck through the open front door, looking like a curious animal, and then she opened a back window for him to crawl through. The boy looked around and quietly called out.

"Allura?" he stage whispered. He peeked into every room in the house until he was suddenly attacked from behind with a cold blast of water that surrounded his lower body and froze him to the spot. 

"Who are you?!" a young woman with curly white hair exclaimed. She must've been the princess. "Fath--"

"Wait! Shushshushshush!" Keith interrupted in a panic. "I'm here to help you! The Galra are here to kill you! You need to hide!" 

"Mrow!" Red yowled in agreement.

"What?" the princess dropped her aggression and replaced it with terrified surprise. 

"The Galra are here. They're gonna kill you," 

"I heard you!" Allura snapped. "Why would they target me?"

"Apparently you've been showing an interest in all the elements. They'll take anything as a sign nowadays." Keith explained. "You don't have much time until their peaceful negotiation becomes brute force. Take my jacket. If you run away, they'll mistake you for a fire bender at quick glance."

"Thank you," Allura took the jacket. "Why are you helping me?" the boy shrugged.

"I just... needed to." 

"Well, thank you very much. I'll be going-- wait, what about my father?"

"Don't worry about him. Just save yourself."

"No. I can't just leave him here! The Galra are horrible monsters who will destroy anything in their path!"

"Trust me, I know that more than anything!" Keith huffed. "But you can't afford to wait for him. If you value your life, please, just run." 

"...." Allura was quiet for a long moment. "I can't," 

"UGH,"

"Please understand. I won't leave if I can't ensure the safety of my family." 

"Okay, okay, whatever. Can you just, unfreeze me? I am not cut out for the cold." Allura did as she was asked and Keith shuddered at the warmth getting to surround him. Red rubbed against his legs to help. "How about this. I'll tell the forces outside that you aren't here while you run. They should still be slightly peaceful, and will retreat until they know you're back. It'll keep your father safe."

"That's... Not bad. Alright, I'll trust you." Allura nodded and put on the jacket she was given. "Thank you,"

"... It's nothing," Keith couldn't help the surge of warmth that accumulated due to doing what he knew was right and good. He watched the princess leave through a back window before heading to the front door. On the way he picked up another coat so he wouldn't die of hypothermia. The door was wide open, with Alfor guarding it with his back turned to him. Keith spoke up from behind him, startling the poor man and confusing the Galra outside.

"Princess Allura is nowhere to be found. I believe she was previously notified of our arrival and escaped." he looked out into the crowd to see looks of disappointment, and a look of gratitude from Thace. 

"What? Allura? Where is she?! What have you done with her?!" Alfor grabbed Keith by the collar and lifted him up angrily. The boy hastily and quietly explained.

"I warned her! I told her to run!" he whispered. "She's safe," Alfor looked stunned and dropped the boy before Azar could run to the front and attack him for trying to hurt her son.

"You did?" 

The young fire bender nodded. Alfor stood still for a moment before giving a slight nod and turning back to the rest of the Galra. 

"You heard him. She's not here. Check another time..."

"She may have escaped us today, but we promise we will find her soon." Haggar, the second Galra in command, croaked.

"I'll be sure to keep that from happening." 

"Keith," Azar motioned for him to come to her. He obeyed and quickly ran to her side. She looked at Alfor. "If you ever try to hurt my son again I will not hesitate to burn you alive." 

"If you every try to kill my daughter I will freeze you forever," he growled in reply. Keith winced at the harsh remarks.

After the Galra had left the house, Keith and Azar, as well as a few other soldiers, stayed behind. One of those soldiers was Lotor, son of the Galra founder, Zarkon. The young man was always paired with Keith from a young age, since their parents knew each other well.

"Hey, whaddya say we go around and ask if anyone knows where the Princess ran off to? We'll do our parents proud." Lotor suggested, nudging Keith. "We can ask all the cute ones, like her, or her, or him, or her," the boy pointed out various people.

"Do whatever you want, Loser," Keith rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go back to the ship--"

"Oh, look at that boy!" Lotor suddenly shrieked, pointing to a tall, dark skinned boy in the distance. The boy had short brown hair and what looked like blue eyes. Keith was surprised to find himself blushing.

"Oh my~! Does the cold hearted Keith have a soft spot for the water boy?" 

"Shut up!" 

"I'm gonna set you up!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"yES!" Lotor pushed Keith forward, in the general direction of the boy. He tried to turn back but the white haired 'prince' held a threatening flame in his hand. Keith rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat, awkwardly shuffling over to the water tribe boy.

"Um..." 

"Huh? Oh, hey there," the boy smiled kindly. The fire bender nervously waved.

"Uh... S-so, what's your name?" 

"The name's Lance," the boy winked, pointing his thumb at himself. "You?"

"K-Keith..."

"Nice to meet ya, Keith!" 

"Nice t-to meet... Um, have you ever seen someone fire bend?" the dark haired teen said quickly. Red raised a brow at her owner's awkwardness.

"No, I've never really left the tribe, and other benders never come here. Why?" Lance asked, curiosity burning in his blue eyes.

"Uh, I'll show you! Fire bending, yeah."

"Seriously?!" Lance's eyes lit up like stars. "Heck yeah!" 

"Heh..." Keith smiled nervously and held out his hand. The water boy watched in anticipation. Keith prepared to create a little flame in his hand, but something entirely different happened.

Instead of a flame flickering to life, some nearby snow floated up and became water above his palm. It faltered slightly, as if whoever was bending it was completely inexperienced. 

"What?"

"I thought you said you were gonna show me fire bending?" Lance remarked in confusion.

"I did, too??" 

 

To be continued...


	2. 2: Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I just read Dirty Laundry holy sHIT  
> Also there's some cursing in this btw if you're offended by that.

 

"I thought you said you were going to show me fire bending?" 

 

"I did, too?" Keith stared at the water in his hand, confused. It shook for a moment before falling to the ground. The boys had no clue what had happened.

 

"Are you a water bender?" Lance tilted his head. What was with the fire nation clothing if he controlled water? 

 

"N-no... I'm a _fire_ bender from the _Fire_ Nation who should only be able to control _fire_! So why the hell did I just control water?!" Keith ranted, beginning to panic. What was even going on? How had he bent an element he couldn't control?

 

"Hm," Lance was deep in thought for a moment. He could have an explanation, but surely it couldn't be true. Keith should have known by now. "Can you bend air and earth?" 

 

"No!"

 

"Have you ever tried?" 

 

"Uh... N-no?" Keith's eyes widened in realization. Surely, surely he wasn't the _avatar_.

 

"Try it,"

 

"Um, okay..." the boy stammered anxiously, then he experimentally waved his hand around, concentrating on making the air swirl around his fingers. Of course, a tiny whirlwind came from him. He looked shocked, then put his hand down into the snow, reaching the ground. Slowly, he lifted his hand, bringing part of the earth with it. 

 

"Oh my gosh, you're the avatar!" Lance exclaimed, eyes brightening excitedly. "I'm face to face with the freaking avatar, this has to be the best day of my life!" 

 

"This has to be the worst day of my life..." Keith said at almost the exact time Lance did. "My mom will kill me if she finds out!"

 

"Wow, tough parents?" 

 

"Galra parents!" he snapped. The response took a moment to register in Lance's mind. When it did, however, he began freaking out with him. 

 

"Wait, your mom is a Galra?! Would she actually try to kill her own son?!" 

 

"Well, at the very least she'd disown me!" 

 

"Dang, that's... harsh." Lance didn't know how else to reply. He wouldn't have known what to do if he found out he was the avatar who lived with the Galra. "What're you gonna do?" 

 

"I have no clue... I can hide it, I'm sure, but if anyone saw me..." Keith trailed off and began frantically looking around. Then, he remembered. 

 

Lotor had pushed him over here. He had to have watched everything. There's no way he would pass up the opportunity to watch Keith become all red and flustered like he was. Keith turned to where he remembered Lotor to be.

 

And, surprisingly, no one was there. The young 'prince' of the Galra empire was nowhere to be seen.

 

Keith let out a loud sigh of relief. Red, who was strangely calm, quiet, and out of sight, suddenly appeared next to the young avatar and meowed urgently. He understood what the fox cat was trying to say.

 

"Red says I should run away."

 

"What?!" Lance exclaimed in disapproval. Surely this kid wasn't going to just pack up and go! "You can't just run!"

 

"Why not?" 

 

"Because that's not what the avatar is supposed to do!" 

 

"Look, I'm no avatar. I'm not going to be the person who'll save the world or keep order or whatever the hell the avatar is supposed to do." Keith argued. "My whole life has been around people who's goal is to kill me! I can't go back to that!" 

 

"Then..." the water tribe boy hesitated for a quick moment. "Then fight it!" 

 

"What?" 

 

"Fight the Galra!" he repeated more confidently. "Maybe you aren't the kind of person to save the world, but who says you can't become one?" Lance explained. He pumped his fists in determination. "You'll be the one to finally end them!"

 

Keith stared at the boy. He was trying to be inspirational, but Keith wasn't one to be 'inspired'. He tightened the coat he had technically stolen from Allura and Alfor's home around him, and picked Red up to hold her. 

 

"Thanks for er, that, but I think it's best to just run away..." he mumbled, hiding his face by putting the hood of the coat over his head. Something suddenly felt wrong, and he couldn't bear Lance staring at him in disappointment.

 

"I get that a near stranger telling you what to do seems super unappealing and all," Lance began, crossing his arms. "but I really think you should rethink this."

 

"Thanks, Lance," Keith muttered, holding Red closer to him. The fox cat meowed a farewell and the avatar began to walk away.

 

However, the boy barely walked five steps before a rush of fire almost hit him. Keith found the source of the fire easily. It was from a Galra soldier named Sendak. A man with an arm made of fire. The young avatar stumbled at the fierce look in the man's eyes. All the enthusiasm he had for the possibility of killing Allura was now directed at killing him.

 

"Uh, slight change of plans! I'm gonna run this way!" Keith shouted, running past Lance. The water boy, confused and having a risk of being killed as well, followed suit. 

 

"Right behind you!" 

 

"Why are you following me?!" Keith snapped in annoyance. 

 

"Like that guy wouldn't kill anything he sees!" Lance replied sarcastically, dodging a flamethrower. The avatar understood his reasons now.

 

"So, all this time, the avatar has been the son of our strongest soldier!" Sendak roared, throwing his fire fist at them. "How could Azar keep that from us?!" 

 

"To be fair, he didn't even know until he talked to me!" Lance called back. "Guess I'm just that amazing!" 

 

"That's not amazing!" the avatar yelled. Of course, finding out you're the target of a whole empire then getting chased by a soldier of said empire was great. Super great. Lance rolled his eyes before he was almost hit with fire. The close call knocked him off-balance and made him fall to the ground. Keith stopped in his tracks, worried if Sendak would attack him.

 

Of course, his worries were validated when Sendak reared back his fire fist, ready to strike. 

 

Keith reached out in a desperate attempt to save the boy, but froze when he saw Lance, surprisingly, manipulate the snow on the ground to form water, then threw it at the soldier. Sendak shivered violently, unable to handle the chilling sensation of the cold water.

 

"Lance!" the avatar called out to him, and the waterbender in question jumped off the ground and raced over to him. They both ran as far as possible, only hearing a faint call for backup from the Galra soldier as he spoke into a walkie talkie.

 

Meanwhile, Sendak had informed the troops nearby that he'd found the avatar. He received mixed reactions. Most were ecstatic, some were angry they didn't find him, and many were confused and unbelieving. He didn't tell them the avatar's identity. That was something he wished to tell Azar directly. Unfortunately for him, he was late to the party.

 

Lotor, who had run off the moment he saw Keith waterbend, was the one to inform Azar of her son's true identity. He may have bent the truth the slightest bit. Instead of mentioning it was a complete accident and the boy had no clue he was the avatar, he said that he was showing off his skills to a random water tribe boy.

 

"My son is the what?" Azar growled. She was understandably furious. "We've been hunting the avatar for years! And he was right under our noses!" 

 

"I'll bet he even told Allura to run away because he knew he was the real avatar," Lotor remarked nonchalantly, fanning the already huge flame. 

 

"That... That little bastard!" the woman screamed. "My son, my own flesh and blood, is the fucking avatar!" she let out a long string of curses, her face becoming more red with each word. Once she finally stopped yelling long enough to compose herself, the Galra prince spoke again.

 

"What should the troops do? Go after him?"

 

"No. If there's one thing I know about Keith," Azar spoke his name like it was poison on her tongue. "It's that he actually cares about the lives of other people, whether he wants to admit it or not. We'll make him come to us..."

 

•~•~•

 

Keith and Lance had finally stopped running only when they were far, far away from the village. They reached a tall hill that overlooked the distant place, and promptly fell to the ground in exhaustion. They didn't see or hear Sendak anywhere, and the man definitely wasn't the stealthy type, so they were safe.

 

For now, at least.

 

"I didn't know you could bend," Keith said once he regained his breath. Red was fast asleep, tucked somewhere in his coat. The fox cat could make herself fit anywhere she pleased, and she slept whenever she felt like it.

 

"Betcha there's a lot you don't know about me," Lance winked, and aimed a finger gun in his general direction. Keith vaguely wondered why he had tried to impress this guy as he shot him a glare. "Seriously, you didn't even realize you were the avatar, how do you expect yourself to notice things?"

 

"Shut up, I've never been able to bend anything other than fire before!" Keith exclaimed defensively. 

 

"Well obviously you were but didn't know!" 

 

"Ugh, I don't want to talk about this..." 

 

The two lied in silence for a while, pondering what to do next. Keith was still trying to comprehend what had happened. He was the avatar, and that scared him half to death. His mother would get the other half, he was certain. There was no doubt she knew what had happened by now. It occurred to him that Lotor must've run off to snitch on him. Screw him.

 

"...Do you hear that?" Lance suddenly asked. 

 

"Hear what--" Keith trailed off, suddenly hearing muffled cries, and the unmistakable sound of crackling fire. The two bounced to their feet and looked at the village. However, all they could see was burning and fierce flames. It was a sight Keith had seen numerous times, as this wasn't the first time he'd witnessed the Galra burn down a town or village, but something about _this_ made his stomach turn.

 

"My village!" Lance cried out in shock. "They're destroying it! We have to go back!" 

 

"No! That's what they want us to do!" Keith warned him before he could run. If the Galra weren't sending warriors to capture him, they were going to lure him to them.

 

"But my family! Everyone there..." 

 

"They can defend themselves! They're waterbenders, and water extinguishes fire!" 

 

"But--"

 

"No buts! They want me to go back there in a vain attempt to save everyone so they can capture me! And you'll just get hurt if you go." Keith argued. "Plus, since Sendak has seen you with me, he'll try to use you as some sort of leverage. And you don't wanna be captured and used as bait when I won't even care to rescue you," 

 

Lance sneered at his snide remark and crossed his arms.

 

"What am I supposed to do?! Watch everything I know and love burn?!" 

 

"...You can look away?" 

 

"Fuck you,"

 

"Whatever," 

 

The two boys sat in silence, turning away from the burning village. Eventually Lance came to the conclusion that he wouldn't have arrived in time to save anything. Keith was probably right about them trying to lure them into a trap. But now, all the waterbender could think of was how his family must be suffering right now. The faint sound of the crackling flames surrounded him.

 

Feeling bad, Keith scooted over to the boy. Figuring the last thing he wanted to see was fire, Keith attempted to manipulate the air. It swirled around Lance, drawing a tiny smile from him when he noticed the wind picked up a few snowflakes from the ground. It was just enough to pull him away from his thoughts, but they stayed near the front of his mind.

 

"Hey Keith?" 

 

"Hm?"

 

"Thanks. For um... Trying to help with this. And for wanting to save me earlier. And for accidentally finding out you're the avatar in front of me, and yeah..." Lance trailed off, not knowing what else to say. Keith made no reaction for a brief moment before giving a barely-there smile.

 

"No problem, I guess..." He replied, the wind whooshing around them both.

 

**_To be continued..._ **

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 complete! Poor Lance :( poor everyone, actually XD
> 
> This chapter has literally been done for about a week, but I've been too lazy to look over it and all that ._. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know the relationship seems rushed, but when you almost die and find out something as big as that together, you kind of have a.... Bonding moment
> 
> ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


	3. 3: Washed Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited to write this chapter because my favorite character is introduced!!! Guess who it is???? Hint: Leave the math to her

"So what exactly do we do now?" Lance asked. He and Keith had continued walking, leaving the burned village behind. They were walking to a small port far from the Galra ships. 

"I don't know," the avatar shrugged. "We can take a boat to the mainland and figure something out from there." 

"But where's the nearest mainland?" 

"That's what we'll find out,"

"Geez," Lance deadpanned at Keith's nonchalant attitude. "Are you forgetting my whole life just burned down? The least you can do is pretend you know what you're doing!"  

"Can we just keep moving?! I'd prefer not to talk about that!" 

"You think I want to talk about it?!"

"If you don't want to talk about it then why did you bring it up?!" 

Silence.

The two stayed quiet, letting the tension fade away as they reached the port. It was for fishing, so the boats were small and only able to fit five people at the most. They wouldn't move very fast...

"Wait, we're going in that?" Keith pointed at the tiny boat as Lance started dragging it toward the water. He set it down for a moment to give a sarcastic reply.

"Something wrong, prettyboy?" he deadpanned. Keith rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"How on Earth is it gonna move?" 

"If you want it to be fast, I can bend the water to push it forward." the waterbender offered. Keith muttered an okay and helped him push it to the water. 

"Would you need help?" he asked curiously, realizing how draining it would be. Lance shrugged and stood up.

"Maybe. How good are you with waterbending?" 

"Not sure," the avatar replied. "Let's find out." 

Keith walked to the edge of the water and closed his eyes. He lifted his hands and....

Nothing happened

"....Are you gonna do anything?" Lance questioned and quirked a brow. Keith glared at him and tried again. There was barely a ripple in the water.

"Impressive..."

"Shut up! I'm trying!" the black haired boy snapped. For a moment he wondered if everything that had happened was just a hallucination. To test the thought, he bent the earth and air around him. The ground around him rose slightly and a tiny whirlwind erupted. If he could bend air and earth, why not water?

"...Can you not waterbend?" 

"I... I guess not?" 

"But you did earlier, what changed?" Lance tilted his head as Keith tried yet again to manipulate the water. It rippled slightly again, but there was no huge movement.

"Great, I'm the avatar, and I can't even waterbend!" he huffed, crossing his arms. Today was just the worst for him.

"Wow, that's..." Lance trailed, knowing exactly what to say, but also knowing that saying it would get him burned. "Nice."

"What kind of avatar doesn't know how to waterbend?!" 

"I'm sure every avatar has struggled with one element or another, it's no big deal," the waterbender shrugged. "I can help you if you want."

"Really?" 

"Of course. I mean, who wouldn't want to help the avatar?" 

"Oh, right..." Keith replied, slightly disappointed. "Let's just get in the boat already..." 

The two started preparing to leave when a flash of black and red caught their attention. They were both certain it was a Galra soldier who had followed them. Keith and Lance got into a defensive position, ready to attack. 

However, they were surprised to see Princess Allura limping in the snow. 

The boys immediately dropped their stance and ran to help her. The princess was severely burned and fatigued. Her white hair was covered in ash and parts of her dress were burned off. Her breath came in shallow pants. 

"Princess!" Lance cried in concern. Allura collapsed into his arms, and he slowly sat down in the snow to allow her to lay down.

"What happened?!" Keith asked. "Didn't you leave the village before it got burned?"

"I..." Allura paused, taking a deep breath. She coughed a few times before she was able to get enough air to form comprehensible sentences. "I ran back when I saw the fire. I ran to rescue my father..."

"Where is he...?" Lance asked cautiously. The princess' face dropped as she recalled the memory.

"I watched them kill my father. They... burned him alive," she started crying and threw her arms around Lance. The boy blushed, but restrained himself from making a flirty remark. He understood that she needed someone to cry on.

Meanwhile, Keith was going through mental shock. Sure, the Galra burned places down all the time. Of course people in those places were burned alive. But what Allura was implying was different. They wanted to burn Alfor alive, specifically. Yes, the Galra would gladly hurt people who were in their way with weapons or other elements, but burning? Personally? They only did that to suspected avatars, and even that was only on 'special occasions'. 

"I'm so sorry, princess..." Lance murmured, sympathetically patting her back. After a while of crying she passed out, too tired to keep her eyes open.

"She's really hurt..." Keith remarked. Lance nodded and carried her off the ground. He brought her over to the water and placed her body in it, leaving her head out. 

"What are you doing?" 

"Healing her," the waterbender said simply. He sat at the edge of the water and raised his hands. The water around Allura glowed white, then moved back and forth across her body. The singes started to fade and she looked a lot more alive. 

"You're a healer?" Keith asked, tilting his head.

"Yeah, my great great grandmother was the world's greatest healer, and it's been passed down since then," Lance explained. 

"Oh... Who was your great great grandmother?" 

"Her name was Katara," he answered. "Thinking about it now, she was actually one of the old avatar's wife."

"What?!" Keith exclaimed, suddenly a lot more interested in Lance's family history.

"Yeah... Avatar Aang, huh..." the waterbender trailed off, deep in thought. Suddenly, he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"You're my great great grandpa!" Lance exclaimed, laughing his butt off. "Heya, Gramps!"

"I-I'm not him!" Keith yelled, now red with embarrassment. "I'm just one of his reincarnations..." 

"Haha! Gramps!"

"Shut up!" 

Lance kept laughing while Keith silently fumed. Eventually the waterbender stopped, and he continued to heal Allura. She finally woke up once the sun had already set.

 

"Thank you, Lance..." she said once she was out of the water and next to a fire Keith had started. 

"It's no problem, always ready to help," Lance winked, and Allura stared at him for a moment before turning to Keith.

"And thank you, for saving me," she smiled. "I owe you my life,"

"Don't worry about it..." he mumbled in reply. "Here, take your coat back." the avatar removed the coat he had taken from her house. Red fell out of it with a squeak. The fox cat immediately ran into Keith's lap, not liking the cold.

"My father's coat..." she gasped and took it from him. She began to tear up again. "Thank you... Here's yours back," 

Keith accepted his own jacket back and quickly put it on. He left it unzipped so Red could snuggle into it. Allura put her coat on and moved the hood over her head. It helped her feel more at ease.

"Allura, if you don't mind me asking... Do you know which soldier it was that killed your father?"

"Way to be sensitive," Lance deadpanned, glaring at him. Keith glared right back as Allura answered him.

"I believe it was a woman named Azar... I'd heard stories about her. How she's the Galra's best warrior. People would bring back scary campfire stories of her cruelty." 

Keith was silent after that. Lance stared at him, wondering if he had a connection to the infamous Galra. He kept quiet however, not wanting to stir anything up... For now.

 

•~•~•

 

After everyone was given ample time to rest, the three all decided to go together across the ocean. Lance and Allura moved the boat along, and Keith would occasionally airbend to speed up the boat whenever he saw a big wave. The waterbenders yelled at him but he called it a thrill. Meanwhile Red hid under everyone's coats, afraid of the water. They all had taken them off once they got far enough North that the weather was warmer. After a long long while, they all washed onto shore. 

Lance and Allura crawled out of the boat, exhausted. They collapsed as soon as they reached stable ground. Keith stayed watch for anything dangerous.

 

Meanwhile, further inland, a girl sat on the shoulders of her large friend as she messed around with a fan. She was trying to add an extra setting somewhere in between "it's kind of moving" and "holy crap this fan is about to fly off the ceiling". 

"Hunk, hand me that screwdriver," she instructed. Her friend did as asked with a smile. 

"How's it going up there, Pidge?" 

"Almost done, just gotta screw this and it's all good." 

"Great,"

Pidge screwed in the last screw and Hunk let her off his shoulders. He turned the fan on and it moved at the perfect speed. Finally, no more fear of the fan spinning off the ceiling.

"It works!" they cheered happily.

"Rover, come look at this!" Pidge called back to her robot friend. Rover was a small drone that was possessed by a green lioness spirit. The drone was originally built so Pidge could spy on others, but now she kept it as a companion.

The drone beeped in approval. Hunk and Pidge grinned at each other and decided to reward themselves by going out to eat fried dough from their favorite fast food place, but were stopped in their tracks when Rover suddenly stopped following them and was flying towards the ocean.

"Rover! What are you doing?!" Pidge exclaimed and ran after her robot. Hunk trailed close behind. The two followed the robot into the forest outside town. Eventually they were led to the seaside where they discovered Keith, Lance, and Allura.

"Who are you?" Hunk asked, trying to hide behind Pidge. He definitely couldn't hide behind someone a fourth of his size.

"I could ask you the same question!" Keith snapped, conjuring a flame in his hand.

"Woah dude, calm down," Pidge warned. "Are you okay? Your friends don't look too good,"

"They aren't my friends, and we're fine!" 

"Dude, just let us help. We aren't gonna hurt you." Pidge deadpanned. Keith was quiet for a moment before asking.

"Where exactly did we wash up?"   
"Oh, I can answer that!" Hunk squeaked triumphantly. "This is a shore on the Earth Kingdom."

"Earth kingdom... Okay then..." Keith thought to himself for a moment. "You guys earthbenders?" 

"Yeah, we can metalbend, too" 

"Perfect..." 

"Why?" 

"I can explain later. Do you know anywhere safe we can stay? Where there's no Galra?" 

"Well, not anyplace with no Galra, but..." Pidge muttered, deep in thought. "You could stay at my house if you don't mind. My mom would probably be okay with helping a few people." 

"Alright..." Keith stood up and walked over to pick up Allura. "Do you mind carrying him?" he asked Hunk. Hunk quickly went over and threw Lance over his shoulder. The three began walking back inland. Rover and Red followed close behind.

"So, what are your names?" Pidge asked curiously. 

"Why do you care?" 

"Uh, cause you're staying at my house?" she glared at the rude firebender. 

"...I'm Keith, that's Lance and Allura." 

"Cool. I'm Katie, but I go by Pidge. He's Hunk," 

"Hi," the big guy waved at the mention of his name.

"So you're a firebender, huh? What are you doing here with what looks to be two people from the water tribe?"

"I said I'd explain later," Keith snapped. Pidge and Hunk exchanged a glance before continuing their walk in silence.

"Rude..."

•~•~•

It was a while after they got back to Pidge's house that Lance and Allura woke up. When they did, the three explained everything that had happened. 

"Wow..." Hunk muttered. "I-I'm sorry..." 

"No wonder you're so short tempered..." Pidge looked at Keith. "Sorry for snapping at you." 

"Whatever..." 

"So you're the avatar, but you have no experience with anything other than fire?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah. I suck at it all. Especially water. I can barely bend it." Keith remarked, remembering his failed attempts.

"Well, we can definitely help with your earthbending, if you want," Hunk offered with a smile.

"I don't take offers from strangers but..." Keith paused, thinking it through. "I need to this time."

"Oh! And I know someone who can help you with airbending, too!" Pidge exclaimed, suddenly excited. "He was my brother's friend. Where he lives has like, no Galra, too."

"Are you talking about Shiro?" Hunk questioned, tilting his head.

"Yes, Shiro!"

"So we're gonna visit him?" Lance questioned.

"Yeah! We'll go tomorrow. There's a boat heading to where he lives. It also gives you guys some time to rest and all." 

"Sounds like a plan," 

 

Later, Pidge had lent Allura some of her mother's clothes, and Hunk gave Keith and Lance some of his old clothes that didn't fit him, then went home. Pidge and Allura decided to share her room, and Keith and Lance were left to share the bed in the guest bedroom.

"So," Lance began, squished up against Keith so he wouldn't fall off the small bed they were given. "this is fun?"

"This is weird, and uncomfortable, and way too close," 

"Well neither of us are sleeping on a wooden floor and it's your fault for getting this close and then letting Red sleep on us and lock us in place," 

"If you want to move, then move!" Keith whispered loudly. Lance gave a gasp of disbelief. 

"You can't move when a fox cat is on you! It's practically illegal! Plus, look how cute she looks when she's sleeping..."

Keith couldn't help but smile at his fox cat's sleeping form. She really was cute when she was asleep. He tore his gaze away and shifted best he could into a more comfortable position. 

"Anyway, goodnight," Lance muttered softly, ready to fall asleep in the comfy bed.

"Night,"

 

To be continued

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't know how to end this chapter--
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


	4. 4: First Training Session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> https://my.w.tt/UiNb/Exa2lsVrhH in case you were wondering what Azar looks like, because I never really explained her appearance.

Honestly, Keith was just fine with waking up early. He would wake right when the sun came up on most days. However, he was not fond of startling awake at 3am thanks to Lance's screaming.

"What?! What happened?!" Keith jolted upright. He looked around frantically for what could've caused the screaming. He noticed Lance, who was panting and sweating. The water tribe boy looked like he'd seen a ghost-- or worse. "Lance? What's wrong?"

"I... Family... They were--" the waterbender gulped and took shaky breaths. "They were dying-- I couldn't help them!" 

"...Nightmare?" Keith questioned. He mentally slapped himself. Of course it was a fucking nightmare, and of course he knew exactly what caused it. The fire. The Galra. Everything.

"N-nightmare, yeah... I'm sorry. I woke you up, didn't I?" Lance was obviously still shaken. He trembled slightly and his eyes were tearing up. 

"No, I was just chilling and awake at 3 in the morning!" Keith muttered, obvious sarcasm lacing his voice. 

"Sorry..." he apologized again. "I guess I'm not over what happened..." 

"Why would you be?" the avatar asked. "It's not like that's just something someone can cope with immediately." he rubbed his eyes, trying to rub the sleepiness away. He expected Lance to have nightmares about what happened. Heck, he was surprised he didn't get any sooner. Keith knew he'd be scarred too if he watched his whole life burn down.

Before Lance could make any reply, Pidge and Allura stumbled into the room. They were mildly panicked and groggy.

"What happened? Who screamed?" Pidge asked, trying to stifle a yawn. 

"That was me, sorry..." Lance wiped away some of the sweat on his face as Allura approached him.

"Are you alright?" she placed a hand on his shoulder sympathetically. Lance glanced at her, a sad look in his eyes, before speaking.

"Nightmare. About home..." Allura went from worried to understanding in an instant. She leaned in to hug the waterbender. Lance melted into her embrace, and tears formed at the corners of his eyes.

"I understand..." the princess mumbled softly. After a moment, she looked to Pidge. "Do you mind if I have a moment with Lance?" 

"You two can stay in my room tonight if you need. I'll just hang with Keith I guess," Pidge shrugged as Keith protested behind her.

"Wait, what?!"

"Shut up and let them be homesick together," the young earthbender hissed. Keith did as she said and, well, shut up. Lance and Allura left the room, and the two were left alone.

"So," Pidge began, being the nosy girl she was. "How did you meet Lance?" 

"Huh?" 

"When you explained what happened earlier, you said you and Lance discovered you were the avatar, ran away, ran into Allura, blah blah blah," the girl recalled their earlier conversation. "How did you meet Lance? Were you already friends? Is that why you were at the Southern Water Tribe?"

"You have a lot of questions, don't you?" Keith deadpanned, glaring at her.

"Millions," 

"Do you really need to know?" 

"I'd say so," 

"Whatever. It's not like it's something to hide," the avatar shrugged before continuing. "I met him because..." he trailed off, and suddenly began to blush. He was hoping Pidge wouldn't see it, but apparently she could see well enough in the dark.

"Is that a blush...?" Pidge smirked and leaned closer to him.

"N-no!" 

"Yes!" the girl squealed excitedly, but she also tried to keep quiet. "How did you meet?" 

"If I tell you you can't tell Lance why I went over to him!"

"Wait, what?"

"So, I kinda went over to him because someone I know said we should... find cute people, and he saw me blush when I saw Lance..." Keith explained, blushing at both the memory and that he was telling Pidge all this.

"Oh my gosh..." she was trying to keep herself from grinning. Keith rolled his eyes.

"Anyway he pushed me over to him so I panicked and tried to show off that I could fire bend. I figured that would impress him?"

"You wanted to impress him!" 

"I wanted to run away!" the avatar protested, throwing his hands up in annoyance. "But Lotor wouldn't let me!"

"Lotor? Is that your friend?" the brunette queried.

"Not really... Our parents know each other so we ended up being forced to spend time together."

"Ohhhh," Pidge nodded in understanding. "So, that's how you met each other. What were you and Lotor doing in the Water Tribes?" 

At that, Keith froze. What was he supposed to tell her? He couldn't tell her that his mother is Galra. He couldn't say he was going with her on a 'business trip.' He couldn't explain truthfully. However, he was horrible with lying. Maybe he could just ignore her and claim he wanted to go back to sleep, which technically wasn't a lie.

"Hello? Earth to Keith?" Pidge waved a hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"I'm tired, I'm going back to sleep," he mumbled and laid down. Pidge grumbled in annoyance and smacked him in the head.

"Don't dodge the question!" when there was no reply, the girl took matters into her own hands. She got up, stood on the end of the bed, and gave a warning.

"Keith, if you don't answer me, I will body slam you," 

"No you won't," 

"3... 2..."

"Pidge, go to sleep,"

"1!" 

Pidge jumped in the air, and plummeted straight onto Keith. She accidentally jammed her elbow into his side, but it worked in her favor. The avatar shot up with a yelp. The two then began a war with pillows and light punches that was stopped when Pidge's mom came in and yelled at them to go to sleep.

•~•~•

"Welp, are you guys ready to see Shiro?" Hunk asked later in the day, as their boat arrived to take them to an island near the South Air Temple that was accessable without a flying bison.

"I'm pumped!" Lance said excitedly. He seemed a lot better than he had before. Keith smiled internally knowing he must've felt better. 

"I wonder how he's been lately..." Pidge questioned. "It's been a while. I did call him and tell him we're coming, though. He said he's happy to help."

"Good," Keith nodded. "I need to learn airbending so I can stop people from tackling me in the middle of the night." He glared at a certain earth bender. She stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Oh that's what that was?" Allura realized. "I was worried I had made an unfortunate mistake in leaving you two alone..."

"It felt pretty unfortunate for me," Keith grumbled.

"He's just mad because I was kicking his butt in a pillow fight until my mom made us stop," 

"Am not!"

"Are so!"

"Guys!" Hunk stopped them from bickering any further. "Our ship is here, let's go,"

The five of them walked onto the boat and found a place to sit and watch the waves once they got moving. Pidge and Allura were talking with each other about "girl things", which was probably just code for "ew, no boys right now." Hunk and Lance were debating over the flexibility of rules. Should they be followed or broken. It's clear who's arguing for what. Meanwhile, Keith watched Red chase a dot Rover was maneuvering across the deck. It was cute.

Eventually, the boat reached the island. They all got off the boat and took a moment to get their land legs back. Pidge looked around, presumably searching for Shiro, until her eyes locked onto someone in the distance. A tall, buff man, with black and white hair. His arms were covered with long blue arrows, and there was a blue arrow poking out from under his white hair.

"Shiro!" she called out to him excitedly. Pidge ran toward him, urging the others to keep up. She jumped into the guy's arms and he lifted her up like a brother playing with his sister.

"Pidge! It's nice to see you again!" He smiled, setting her down on the ground. The others finally caught up to the two and Pidge happily introduced them all.

"So, this is everyone. You know Hunk, and that's Lance, Allura, and Keith," she pointed at everyone as she said their name. Shiro extended a hand to them all, and they shook hands. "Everyone, this is Shiro." 

"It's nice to meet you all," 

"Same to you! You look super cool for an ai--" Lance was cut off by Allura's elbow to his side.

"It's nice to meet you as well," she greeted him politely. "I'm so glad you agreed to help Keith," 

"I'm happy to help. It's an honor to train the avatar," the man turned to Keith, who was as antisocial as ever. "Keith, right?"

"Yeah," the avatar muttered. Shiro stared for a moment, not knowing how to advance the conversation.

"So, you're from the fire nation I'm guessing?" he finally said after a moment.

"Of course,"

"Keith, talk a little more!" Allura hissed at him through her teeth. He glared at her for a moment before taking a deep breath.

"Sorry, yes, I'm from the fire nation. I just found out I'm the avatar and I need help," 

"Well, as I said before, happy to help. Come on, I'll show you where you all can stay." Shiro lead the five to a large field, presumably to train there. There was a house nearby, which Shiro said could fit all of them. 

"Thanks for this," Keith mumbled. He wasn't good with expressing gratitude. Shiro nodded in reply.

"This place is so pretty!" Lance exclaimed, examining the terrain. Green grass and a sparkling river. What could be better?

"Glad you think so. I've been wondering what to do with the field. What better way to use it than training?" 

"It's nice," Pidge grinned, and bent a small section the earth up. Red was standing on that particular section, and hissed in surprise when she was shoved up along with it.

"Hey, careful with Red!" Keith snapped. Pidge waved a flippant hand and brought the fox cat back down. 

"So, when are you gonna start training?" Hunk asked curiously. Shiro looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, the sooner the better," 

What followed next was Keith absolutely failing at everything everyone was trying to teach him.

It started with Shiro, who tried to start everything off easy. It was something everyone could do. Meditation. That didn't go very well. 

It all began relatively strong. Keith sat with his legs crossed and took deep breaths, thinking of peace. However, meditation was boring, and Keith craved more action. He soon got annoyed with sitting around and started complaining. Loudly. He got restless and almost started yelling about how bored he was. Shiro decided to move on to something else. Something that would keep him moving.

That something was air gates. He explained to Keith that he had to move through the gates without getting hit. It required flowing with the movement of the tiles. Long story short, he bombed that. It ended with Keith raging and burning all the gates while Shiro recalled a story about how the previous avatar did the same thing.

They moved on to earthbending, deciding to skip water for now. Hunk attempted to start with easy exercises, like forming rock armor around himself and having Keith push him across a line made in the ground. It was easy enough. Then, Pidge made him carry a huge boulder while going across an 'obstacle course'. It was really just her shooting earth up randomly and he'd avoid it. He would almost lose his balance multiple times. 

Thinking he was progressing well, they tried to teach him to feel for seismic sense. However, Keith being impatient and all, he only wanted to attack based on his own impulsiveness. Hunk and Pidge knew he wasn't going to be able to get anywhere with that that day.

Finally, Lance and Allura tried to teach him waterbending. They started with the basics, streaming. It helped people get the feeling of the water. It might've worked, if Keith had been able to actually move the water more than a few inches before it fell back into the river. Eventually, the sun began to set, and after a full day of training with little to no progress, everyone gave up for the day.

"Well..." Shiro began, trying to find encouraging words. "Good attempt, Keith. We'll try again tomorrow."

"Alright..." Keith muttered, feeling ashamed for doing so horribly. Everyone started to head to the house when Red and Rover stopped and faced the same direction. Pidge and Hunk also stopped, seemingly feeling something in the ground.

"Something's coming..." Hunk whispered, closing his eyes. "An army!" 

"What?" everyone questioned before noticing a line of soldiers in the distance. The Galra.

"Oh no," Keith gasped, spotting Azar leading the troop.

"Do we run or do we fight them?" Pidge frantically asked, turning to Shiro. It wasn't him who replied.

"We have to fight them! We can't let them destroy this place!" Lance exclaimed. Keith could see a fire in his eyes that reflected the fire that burned his village.

"We can't let them hurt Keith!" Allura added. Hunk concentrated on the vibration in the earth before speaking.

"It's a small attack force. We can take them. Might have to fight 3 against 1 though." he remarked.

"3 against 1?!" Pidge exclaimed in protest. 

"If we work together, we can defeat them. We just have to watch each other's backs." Shiro said. "Let's go, and stay close to the water so Lance and Allura can fight!" 

"Right!" 

Everyone ran to confront the attack force, which was composed of different types of benders. Fire, water, earth, even an airbender thrown into the mix. Azar was of course in the front. Her eyes locked onto Keith, and she was immediately filled with rage and bloodthirst.

Azar was first to lunge at the group, and her attack was of course directed at her son. She threw flames at him, and Keith did his best to redirect them. Another fire bender and an earthbender joined in on the fight, and the other Galra soldiers began their own fights.

Pidge was up against two waterbenders and an airbender. The airbender constantly blew her into the air while the water benders threw ice spears at her. She narrowly dodged them. Eventually she started summoning discs of the earth to combat with. She managed to hit the airbender in the head and get herself on stable ground. When the waterbenders tried to attack, she made walls and then threw pieces of said walls at them.

Meanwhile Hunk was trying to use earth armor against a couple of firebenders and a waterbender. The armor was great for neutralizing the fire, but it was getting soggy from all the water. He shot the armor off of him, throwing it at the soldiers. It knocked them off balance enough to let him get in a few solid hits to their heads.

Lance and Allura were up against a few firebenders, a couple earthbenders, and a waterbender. They threw water at them best they could, but the other waterbender kept redirecting it. Eventually Lance distracted the water soldier so Allura could knock him out with blocks of ice to the head. The two then proceeded to freeze the soldiers in place before throwing them all into the swiftly flowing river.

Shiro was up against all fire benders, and he was struggling to redirect all the flames without hitting the others. He launched himself into the air and attacked the warriors from above. Shiro blasted them backwards and into the river along with the soldiers Lance and Allura fought.

Keith was struggling with fighting the powerful soldiers in front of him. He recognized them, too. There was obviously Azar, but there was also Prorok and Haxus, two powerful warriors. It felt strange to fight people he knew.

"So it's been you this whole time!" Azar growled, punching a flame in his direction. Keith narrowly dodged it. "Why would you keep this from me?!"

"Well, to be fair..." the boy began as he avoided a rock being thrown at him. "You would have killed me if you knew,"

"You don't keep secrets from me!" 

"Oh yes I do," Keith raised a small wall from the earth to defend himself from another fire attack.

"You're dead, avatar!" Azar exclaimed, forming an extremely hot fire. The flames danced white and blue in her hands, taking Keith by surprise. She hurled the fire at him, knocking him back as he tried to counter it with his own flames and an attempt at airbending. 

Azar approached him as he lay on the ground. She lifted a hand to spark another flame, but suddenly water enveloped her hands before turning to ice. Lance had come to help while the others dealt with Prorok and Haxus. Lance enveloped most of Azar's body in ice as Shiro called the police to take them to jail. 

The ice didn't hold her for long, as Azar was capable of breathing fire. It wasn't blue like the flames she had made before, but it was enough to melt the ice. She was about to attack again, but she saw that her soldiers were either far down a river or knocked out. Being the smart woman she was, she hurriedly fled the scene. 

"Looks like we were followed..." Lance mumbled, scratching the back of his head. 

"Who was that leading soldier, perchance? I didn't get a good look at her..." Allura remarked, a vague look of familiarity in her eyes. Keith kept quiet, remembering her father's death. He shrugged as if he didn't know his own mother.

"Geez, those guys really did a number on us," Hunk remarked, looking at all the scratches and burns on everyone.

"I think we did an even bigger number on them," Pidge smugly looked at the fallen soldiers. She smirked with pride at the unconscious bodies on the ground. 

"I'll heal everyone once these guys get taken away," Lance offered.

"I'll help," Allura smiled. Soon the police on the island came and took the Galra soldiers to a prison on the island. The group then dipped into the river as Lance and Allura treated their minor burns and scratches. After they healed them, they healed each other. Once everyone was back to full health, they finally went back to the house, changing into dry clothes and hanging up the wet ones.

Shiro offered everyone a couple spare rooms to sleep in and provided them with futons, pillows, and blankets. The girls slept in one room, Hunk and Shiro slept in another, and Lance and Keith were once again sharing a room again. Thankfully the 'bed' was big this time. Red slept comfortably in a cat bed Shiro had once used for his mini griffin. The griffin, coincidentally named Blacky, was more of a black cat with red and white eagle wings. She had a new bed now, so Red got to use an old one.

"I've been meaning to ask you, do you feel better after that nightmare before?" Keith questioned, breaking a long silence. He wasn't even certain Lance was awake. The waterbender of course replied and confirmed he was indeed awake.

"Yeah, I'm good. Allura helped me," Lance turned on his side to face Keith. "She and I talked about the tribe and how we can make sure other people don't have to experience that. Which is great, y'know?"

"Yeah..."

"Like earlier, I was so worried they were gonna attack this place. I just couldn't let them. I've never felt so passionate about protecting something," the boy said breathlessly.

"That's... nice." Keith smiled lightly, facing the water boy.

"I think that once you get all those elements mastered, we're gonna travel the world and help the people the Galra hurt!" 

"We're?" the avatar quirked a brow. Realizing what he'd said, Lance turned bright red. 

"I-I mean... Yeah, actually, I mean exactly what I said. I told you you were gonna fight the Galra, and that's what you're gonna do! And I'm gonna tag along!" 

Keith stared at the boy, slightly amused. He couldn't help a slight feeling at his chest that made him feel warm and tingly. Something about Lance made him feel weird, and he couldn't tell whether or not he liked the weirdness.

"Okay, okay," Keith murmured, sleep beginning to overtake him. "I'm going to sleep. Try not to scream too loud if you have any nightmares." 

"No promises," Lance laughed at his own joke, getting comfortable in the blankets. "Good night,"

"Good night," 

 

To be continued...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOO! ANOTHER CHAPTER MADE!!!1!!  
> ALSO I WATCHED S4 AND I AM DISAPPOINTED??? NOT WITH THE REUNION EP THO, THAT WAS AMAZING. Here's a vid I made about S4: https://youtu.be/2piH_Iot9Cs it's beautiful  
> Also check out the mEme vid my friend made: https://youtu.be/4g0GAwTq7CQ
> 
> So ye, hope you enjoyed the chapter!


End file.
